Quick Read
- Public inquiry into 2023 Nottingham attacks concluded after 14 weeks.
- Families cite ‘catastrophic collapse’ of police and NHS oversight.
- Police admitted failure to execute a 2022 arrest warrant for the perpetrator.
- Families are demanding immediate government action and accountability.
A Catastrophic Collapse of Responsibility
The bereaved families of Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar, and Ian Coates have publicly condemned the systemic failures of British state agencies following the conclusion of the public inquiry into the 2023 Nottingham attacks. The 14-week inquiry, which ended last Friday, scrutinized the actions of the police and NHS in the years leading up to the June 13, 2023, killings.
Valdo Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, stabbed the three victims to death and attempted to kill three others. Speaking at a press conference in London, Emma Webber, mother of Barnaby Webber, described the inquiry process as “brutal” but “necessary,” citing a “catastrophic collapse of responsibility” and an “undoubted miscarriage of justice.”
Systemic Failures and Accountability
The inquiry uncovered that Calocane had multiple interactions with authorities, including a failure by Nottinghamshire Police to execute an arrest warrant issued in September 2022. The former chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police admitted that the failure to apprehend Calocane was a “serious and systemic and operational failure.”
Families are now calling for urgent government action ahead of the final report, which is expected next year. Beyond police failures, the inquiry highlighted issues within the Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, where Calocane had been sectioned four times before being discharged. Families are now seeking accountability from individual executives and professional regulators, asserting that “excuses stop here and accountability starts today.”